Background
Hodge was born in Rutherfordton, North Carolina. His mother worked at a garment factory, while his father worked at the local textile mill and ran the family farm.
Hodge was born in Rutherfordton, North Carolina. His mother worked at a garment factory, while his father worked at the local textile mill and ran the family farm.
He appeared in 80 Major League Baseball games as a pinch hitter, third baseman and first baseman for the Cleveland Indians in 1971. The switch-hitting Hodge threw right-handed, stood 6 feet 2 inches (188 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg). His nickname of "Gomer" came from a teammate on the Burlington Indians in 1964 due to his resemblance to Jim Nabors.
The nickname stuck with him throughout his career.
Hodge spent eight seasons in the Cleveland farm system before making the MLB Indians" 1971 roster out of spring training. In his MLB debut on April 6, he singled to shortstop as a pinch hitter off Mickey Lolich of the Detroit Tigers and drove in a run.
Two days later, with the Indians down 2–0 against the Boston Red Sox at Cleveland Stadium, he pinch hit for second baseman Eddie Leon in the eighth inning, doubled off Sonny Siebert and later scored the Tribe"s first run of the game. Hodge replaced Leon in the field and came to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Then, on April 11, Hodge pinch hit again, and, facing Tatum, he doubled for his fourth consecutive MLB hit to drive in another run.
He would collect only 13 more hits for the entire season, however, as he batted only.205 with one home run and nine runs batted in. His minor league playing career extended over 12 seasons, through 1976, and he later managed and served as a batting instructor in the minor league organizations of the Indians, Montreal Expos and Red Sox through 2002. Gomer Hodge died May 13, 2007, from Lou Gehrig"s Disease.